The Tubes are still rocking on their own terms

From the beginning “The Tubes” differentiated themselves from their contemporaries. While their musicianship has never been in question, the emphasis has always been on a uniquely themed live show. Complete with a variety of alter egos, bizarre costume changes and risqué, controversial themes, the Tubes’ live show is not just a concert — it is an event.

“It’s all about the live show,” says lead vocalist Fee Waybill. “We’re an intimate setting kind of band. It works better for us if everybody can hear everything, we can see people and make eye contact with people.

“That has always been our forté. Making the personal connection is what it’s all about. Not only from the stage but from across the merchandise counter. Everybody wants to make that personal connection. When you’re nice and unassuming, that connection sticks. Next year when we want to come back, they want to come back again. It’s all about making that personal connection.”

Featuring a line-up that consists of Waybill (vocals), Prairie Prince (drums), Roger Steen (guitar), Rick Anderson (bass) and David Medd (keyboards), the Tubes find the current state of the band to be a welcome change.

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“We are doing things on our own terms,” says Waybill. “We used to go out for nine months straight, live on a bus and have to deal with the record company, the promo guy and the management, the booking agent and the local record store. Everybody wanted a piece of you. It was a struggle. You had three months off, and you had to write a new record and record and compete with everybody else to get your record on the radio. Now we just don’t have to deal with that whole ugly side.

“Back in the old days, you’d have a couple of hits, and you’d be kind of forced by management and the record company to move into bigger halls. Promoters wanted to offer you more money to sell more tickets to get into a bigger hall and you’d lose that intimacy, that personal touch. On the one hand I miss it, on the other I would rather play to 700 seats than 7,000 seats.”

Formed in Phoenix in the early ’70s, the Tubes relocated to San Francisco, where they quickly established a following that would make them a fan favorite in the Bay area.

After serving as the opening act for legendary artists Iggy Pop, The New York Dolls and Led Zeppelin, the Tubes signed a record deal first with A&M and then with Capitol Records. By then the Tubes had earned a reputation as one of rock’s most entertaining acts. While their first hits “Don’t Touch Me There” (1976) and “White Punks on Dope” (1977) garnered attention, it was 1981’s “Talk to Ya Later” and 1983’s top selling single “She’s a Beauty” that became the band’s biggest hits.

In spite of the band’s loyal following and well-established music presence, Capitol Records dropped the Tubes, creating financial difficulties for the band from which it would take more than a year to recover. Waybill left the band in 1986 following the “Love Bomb,” their last major album release.

The Tubes continued to tour and record with varied musical line-ups, and Waybill returned to take over the lead vocal duties in the early ’90s. In 2005, the band participated in a reunion concert featuring Waybill, Steen, Anderson, Spooner, Welnick and Cotten. This same year, Cotton spearheaded “The Tubes Project,” an effort to archive the history of the band through TV and concert footage, hundreds of photographs and more than 70 interviews with band members, crew, managers and friends.

Over the next two decades the Tubes released a number of live, studio and compilation albums, including “Best of the Tubes” (1992), “Genius of America” (1996), “Millennium Collection: The Tubes” (2000), “The Tubes World Tour Live” (2000), “Hoods From Outer Space” (2002), “White Punks on Dope” (2003), “Alive in America” (2006), “Wild in London” (2006), “Goin’ Down the Tubes” (2008) and “Mondo Birthmark” (2009).

In 2007, the band was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame.

“We’ve been doing this for 40 years,” reflects Waybill. “Nobody wants to stop playing. There’s nothing better than to play. To be in front of people and to see the joy in their eyes and to know that I’m giving them this — it makes you feel good. We have a good thing going.”

The Tubes perform at the Sellersville Theatre; located at 24 West Temple Ave., Sellersville, PA this Sunday at 7:30 P.M. Tickets are $35.00 and are available by calling

About the Author

A Philadelphia based music journalist for over 30 years, Rob has interviewed, reviewed and photographed hundreds of well-known musicians and athletes. Working with almost every major music venue in the Philadelphia area, his writing has appeared in a variety of entertainment publications and newspapers. His work can frequently be found in print and on the web in the 21st Century Media newspapers. Rob resides in Phoenixville, Pa. Reach the author at (Unknown address)
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